Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world flock to Israel and to the holy land of Christians, Jews and Muslims, Jerusalem, to celebrate Easter, and to visit biblical places like the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Temple of Salomon, the El-Aqsa Mosque, the magnificent Dome of the Rock and the Mount of Olives. Wailing wall, Wia dolorosa, Via Crucis

Way of Sorrow- Fifth Station. – As the inscription above the door of this Franciscan chapel says, here Simon of Cyrene took the cross from Jesus and carried it on to Golgotha. This is mentioned in three Gospels, but not in that of John.

The Way of Sorrow- Eight Station. A small plaque with a cross on the wall marks the place where Jesus met his pious women of Jerusalem and told them, “Don’t weep for me, daughters of Jerusalem, but yourselves and your children.” st. Luke

Way of Sorrow- Fourth Station. The meeting between Jesus and his mother is commemored by a small oratory with an exquisite lunette over the antrance, adorned by a bas- relif carved by the Polish artist Zieliensky.

The Way of Sorrow, Second station_Second Station- the Chapel of the Flagellation where tradition holds that Jesus was interrogated by Pilate. The Franciscans begin their weekly procession through the Stations of the Cross here, on Friday afternoons. This modest chapel was built on the site of a Crusader oratory. Inside are glass panel representing the scourging of Jesus (center), Pilate cleansing his hands of the blood of the innocent (left), and the liberation of Barabas (right).
Ecce Homo Arch – this is the second station along the Via Dolorosa. In the 16th century, pilgrims began to refer to the arch as Ecce Homo Arch, referring to Pilate’s declaration as he presented Jesus to the crowd of spectators –Behold the man!-.In reality it is part of a triumphal arch built by Hadrian in 135 A.D. to commemorate his conquest of Jerusalem. The original arch had three parts> the largest, central arch which spans the Via Dolorosa, the left arch which is no longer in existence, and the right arc that can still be seen today inside the Church of the Sisters of Zion.